The Nation's Premier Civil and Human Rights Coalition

Predatory/Subprime Lending

Predatory lending occurs when a lender uses unfair, deceptive, or fraudulent practices when selling a loan to a consumer. Borrowers are steered toward unaffordable loans, or charged higher fees or interest rates than those they qualify for. Subprime mortgages are generally defined as higher-cost home loans made to borrowers with less-than-ideal credit.

The civil and human rights communities had long expressed concern about predatory lending because these practices disproportionately targeted racial and ethnic minority borrowers, robbing them of their homes and their chief wealth-building asset. Today, predatory lending is one of the greatest threats to families working to achieve financial security.